Cauliflower Soup

If you’re anything like me, you regularly come home from the farmers’ market with far more than you can eat. So much freshness, so many deals and all of it so hard to resist. Plus you never know what will have vanished by the following week according to Mother Nature’s whims. One has to get their fill while they can.

At the moment, I have a something purple in my crisper that needs finishing up – whether it’s a little turnip or a kohlrabi, I’m not sure.

There are also a couple of pints of blueberries and a bowl of cherries in there that are nearing the end of their rope. Neither are tempting as far as eating out of hand, but that’s where the fun begins.

The cherries can be pitted and chopped, then thrown into muffins or something a little more decadent. As for the blueberries, I looked them up in my small-batch preserving book and found a fabulous sounding recipe for Maple Blueberry Conserve with Walnuts. In their newfound form, my ailing berries will be fantastic mixed with yogurt or spread on a piece of hot toast.

This soup is a favourite I discovered last summer when a large head of cauliflower was biding its time in my fridge. It serves six to eight and comes from Amelia Saltsman’s The Santa Monica Farmers' Market Cookbook. It freezes beautifully and is warm and soothing come the cool fall months.

I have made no adjustments here, as the recipe stands up perfectly on its own. It's a great way to showcase some of those fresh herbs you may be growing on your porch, too. The best part about it is the peas, a sweet, happy burst when you get one in a mouthful. They can still be found at the markets if you look carefully.

If you don't have an immersion blender, I can't recommend one highly enough. (If you're not sure what I'm talking about, a Google image search should clear it up). I use mine all the time, mainly to make salad dressings and puree soups. They clean up so much faster than a regular blender or food processor and, when it does come to hot soup, there is none of the scariness involved in transferring it from pot to blender.

Indian-Style Cauliflower Soup with English Peas

2 tbsp canola or other mild cooking oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/8 to 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp kosher or sea salt

1 onion, chopped

1 large clove garlic, finely hopped

1 tbsp minced fresh ginger

1 large head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cut into small florets

1/2 cup water

4 to 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 cup shelled English peas (about 1 pound in the pod)

1/2 lime

small handful each of fresh mint, chives and cilantro, chopped

In a wide pot, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and stir until brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the ground spices, pepper flakes and salt and cook until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the remaining tablespoon of oil and the onion, and sauté until translucent and soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute. Stir in the cauliflower and water, cover, raise the heat to medium, and cook for 5 minutes. Add 4 cups stock, re-cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently until very tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Use an immersion blender or regular blender (if so, do it in batches) to puree the soup, leaving a little texture. Add the remaining 2 cups stock as needed to achieve the consistency of heavy cream. Return the soup to medium-low heat, add the peas, cover and simmer until the peas are tender but still bright green, about 5 minutes. Give the soup a squeeze of lime and serve with a sprinkling of the herbs.

Savouring Stratford

Stratford is like that girl in high school -- the one that was pretty, smart, athletic, and everything else endearing.

Every time I go there, I start thinking it's time to pick up and move. There's the obvious thriving theatre and arts scene, but there's also gorgeous scenery, quaint neighbourhoods, and, thanks in part to the chef school, fantastic restaurants and great places to get good food.

Already a hotspot with theatre-goers, Stratford is trying to play up its reputation as a go-to spot for foodies. New projects this summer offer proof -- the town has published a culinary guide for visitors and developed a program that helps discerning eaters identify which restaurants use food from local producers.

They've also created an "Epicurean Trek" through Perth County, one that's well worth taking. About 20 spots are featured on the map, which is featured in the culinary guide (or can be downloaded at www.wecometostratford.com). Makes for a great little daytrip for those of us opting for "staycations" this summer.

You'd never make it to all 20 spots in a day, but you can tailor make your own trek according to whether you feel like doing it by car or by foot or if you'd rather focus on farms or on shops. The best part: each stop guarantees samples.

I recently hit Stratford myself and did a mini-trek, merely scratching the surface. A few highlights:

- Kitchen Connaisseur, right on the Ontario Street strip, a neat little specialty shop that sells their own line of sauces, oils, vinegars, condiments and so on. Loads of tasters are available, which allowed me to discover something to-die-for called Maple Cappuccino sauce. The best part is, once you've tried a sauce, fawned over it, and bought a jar to take home, you can hit up the shop's website for ecipes for what to do with it. (My Maple Cappuccino, for example, could be slathered on cedar planked salmon or used to make creme brulee).

- Soiled Reputation, an organic farm just outside of Stratford proper, manned by Antony John, formerly of Food TV's The Manic Organic and a favourite supplier of chefs from Toronto (like Jamie Kennedy) and elsewhere. John is an engaging, knowledgeable guy and more than willing to chat about ecologically sound growing, birds, and most anything else food-related. Some of his vegetables can be bought on site, including his salad greens -- a work of art, containing everything from a variety of lettuces to a mish-mash of herbs and edible weeds.

- Rheo Thomson Candies and Chocolate Barr's Candies, both downtown and both worth visiting if you have any semblance of a sweet tooth. The latter has been in town for nearly 40 years and all their candies and chocolates (including the famous Mint Smoothie) are made on site. Ditto for Chocolate Barr's, owned by Derek Barr and his wife Jacqueline. Barr got his start at Rheo Thomson's and then branched out on his own. Don't leave without getting yourself a salted caramel or a chili pepper truffle.

- Tea Leaves Tasting Bar, which is run by a most lovely, most knowledgeable woman named Karen Hartwick, who is a "tea sommelier," and one of only a couple of people in Canada with her particular credentials. You can just sample and shop, or you can book a group tasting or seminar ahead of time (a tea and chocolate tasting, for example, or a make-your-own herbal session). Hartwick also runs a B&B should you feel like making a weekend out of it.

There's no shortage of places to lunch, whether you pick up the fixings for a picnic at your various stops or decide to sit on a patio someplace. I dined at County Food Co., which opened last summer and sources most of its food from Perth County. Choosing something from their salad bar was not easy; I opted for a roasted beet salad, another one with the very first of the summer's tomatoes and a third that consisted merely of freshly picked carrots tossed in a honey-dijon glaze with fresh thyme. Blessed summertime.

If you do head out trekking, be sure to check the guide as many spots only welcome visitors during specified times. (Farmers, for example, do have other jobs to get to). Happy staycationing!